This screenshot shows the homepage for the official website of the Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday, April 29, 2014, after the the team's owner, Donald Sterling, was banned for life by the NBA in response to racist comments the league says he made in a recorded conversation. Sterling was also fined $2.5 million, and NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said he will try to force the controversial owner to sell his franchise. (AP Photo)

Photo: Associated Press

This screenshot shows the homepage for the official website of the...

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Protest outside the Staples in response to LA Clippers owner Donald Sterling's recent racist comments. The protest was small due to the NBA commissioner's decision about Sterling earlier in the day.

A fan holds up a sign supporting the Clippers in the first half, in front of a blacked out ad space. The Golden State Warriors played the Los Angeles Clippers at Staples Center in Los Angeles, Calif., in Game 5 of the first round NBA Playoffs on Tuesday, April 29, 2014.

Photo: Carlos Avila Gonzalez, The Chronicle

A fan holds up a sign supporting the Clippers in the first half, in...

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A few protesters rally outside the Staples Center in Los Angeles before the Clippers met the Warriors in an NBA first-round playoff game. The Clippers defeated the Warriors 113-103.

Los Angeles -- It was 22 years ago Tuesday when this city and country were ripped apart by a racially driven implosion. The Rodney King riots started April 29, 1992, in the sweltering late afternoon, shortly after a widely reviled police brutality verdict was handed down.

Los Angeles braced for another potential explosion of anger Tuesday as it awaited the NBA's verdict for Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling, who was recently recorded by his girlfriend spouting a hateful brand of racism. If Sterling received a slap on the wrist, history might have repeated itself.

Video: Video: Protests outside Staples Center before Game 5

Instead, the repeat performance was avoided when newly minted NBA Commissioner Adam Silver calmed the waters in magnificent fashion, handing down the harshest punishment he could. Silver banned Sterling from the NBA for life, fined him the league-maximum $2.5 million and said he would ask the other owners to force Sterling to sell the Clippers.

It was as though a valve was opened and the built-up anger leaked away.

"I felt the pressure on my players," Clippers coach Doc Rivers said before Tuesday night's playoff game against the Warriors. "Everyone was waiting for them to respond. I kept thinking, they didn't do anything, yet they had to respond. So Adam responded.

"I thought that was the sigh of relief that we needed."

Same date - April 29 - different outcome. Outside Staples Center in the late afternoon heat, all was relatively calm. A few entrepreneurs were selling T-shirts that said on the front, "I (heart) my LA Clippers but ..." and on the back had a rude suggestion for Sterling. One fan carried a sign and loudly demanded a boycott. Jesse Jackson was picking up game tickets and offering sound bites. The police presence was visible but not really needed.

The players on both teams reportedly had a boycott plan in place, but when they heard the needed words from Silver, they scrapped it. Fans didn't boycott either: Staples was full by tip-off, in an arena stripped of all corporate advertising, the result of sponsors bailing on Sterling. Rivers predicted the homecourt would be "a safe haven" and the standing ovation during warm-ups proved it.

By a minute into the game, it was all about basketball.

Focus back on the game

This was a much-needed return to sports. This sordid chapter was born from the modern world of phone recordings, social media and billionaire sports team owners. Sterling's girlfriend recorded his racist comments aimed at African Americans, which were leaked to prominent websites and went viral.

Despite those new-world accessories, the incident revealed an age-old problem - the ugly hate that has ripped at our nation since its birth. The Sterling story spooled out over three long days, tearing at professional sports teams, provoking a response from the president of the United States and creating anger that went far beyond one basketball team in Southern California.

Swift action was required. A rock-hard stand had to be taken.

Any waffling or tentative reaction by the new NBA commissioner could have led to another long, hot April day of fomenting anger, a storm on social media, calls for protest, boycotts by more sponsors and an irreparable rip in the fabric of a multibillion-dollar industry.

Silver, a mild-appearing man who has been on the job just three months, brought down a force previously unseen in professional sports. Instead of protecting the old boys' club, instead of delaying or hiding behind "process," he took the strongest action he could.

'Personally distraught'

"The views expressed are deeply offensive and harmful," Silver said. "I am personally distraught the views expressed by Mr. Sterling came from within an institution that has historically taken such a leadership role in matters of race relations."

That last point is the crux of the issue. What usefulness does sports have in our society if it can't act as a leader on issues of race and diversity? One of the world's most powerful leagues, which profits hugely from its diverse employees, had to take a stand on this issue.

Silver said he firmly believes he has the votes from owners to force the sale, and teams quickly lined up behind him. Warriors owner Joe Lacob issued a statement supporting the commissioner.

"We applaud the firm punishment handed out," Lacob said. "We cannot tolerate such feelings or beliefs, not only in the NBA, but in society in general. There is absolutely no room for racism in our world, period."

Unfortunately, there has been room for racism in the past in the NBA. Sterling's ugly views have long been known. Silver, as the new man on the job, had the ability to paint previous incidents as a past that he had little control over. But former Commissioner David Stern should be embarrassed that Sterling wasn't disciplined before.

A belated punishment wasn't the only concern. Other problems include the reality that a lifetime ban for an 80-year-old man isn't much, that the $2.5 million fine for Sterling is the equivalent of 75 cents to a normal person, that the ban extends only to Sterling and not his family members and that Sterling will profit hugely from a forced sale of the team. Sterling is almost certainly planning a lawsuit.

Many voiced concerns about the right to privacy, of a slippery slope that could lead to all sorts of punishments as the result of private conversation. Silver, who is the commissioner of a private enterprise, had an answer to that: "Whether or not these remarks were initially shared in private, they are now public, and they represent his views."

Imperfect but decisive

The punishment wasn't perfect. But Silver did what was required. He took quick and decisive action, handing out the harshest punishment he could. What happens next is unknown.

"Let this whole thing run its course and we'll all have better clarity," Rivers said.

Rivers had been a strong and eloquent voice during the turmoil. He made it clear that, despite the playoffs, the "basketball part" was of less importance to him than the bigger issues. He let his team take Monday off "to breathe."

They breathed. The league, its fans and the larger community all breathed Tuesday. And then got back to basketball.

Sterling's lifetime ban

The NBA issued the harshest punishment in league history to Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling on Tuesday for his racist rant. Under the terms, Sterling:

-- May not attend any NBA games or practices and may not be present at any Clippers facility.

-- May not participate in any business or player personnel decisions involving the Clippers.

-- Is barred from attending NBA Board of Governors meetings or participating in any other league activity.

-- Will be fined $2.5 million, the maximum amount allowed under the NBA constitution, with funds to be donated to organizations dedicated to antidiscrimination and tolerance efforts that will be selected jointly by the NBA and its Players Association.